US stocks turned lower Friday as President Trump and China traded blows on tariffs, with Trump threatening a "massive increase" in tariffs on Chinese goods.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) lost 0.8%, or over 350 points, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 1.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slid over 2%, leading losses.

Trump unloaded on China and its leader, Xi Jinping, in a lengthy post on Truth Social on Friday. The post came after China heated up trade tensions with the US, adding new port fees on American ships and launching an antitrust investigation into Qualcomm (QCOM). Beijing has also been in the midst of tightening export controls on rare earth minerals, and it has halted purchases of US soybeans.

"Some very strange things are happening in China!" Trump posted. In his post, he also threatened to cancel a planned meeting with Xi later this month, saying there was "no reason to do so," before threatening the tariff increase.

"Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A. One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America," Trump wrote.

Markets have had an uncertain week, pulled in different directions by AI demand hopes and US government shutdown worries. With Friday's decline, all major indexes look set for firmly down weeks after a retreat from record highs.

Meanwhile, private data was in focus for investors as the release of official economic data has been delayed due to the US government shutdown, which entered its 10th day. The University of Michigan's reading on consumer sentiment in October, released Friday morning, showed Americans still feeling sour about the economy as they fret about jobs prospects and high inflation.

Looking ahead, investors are counting down for earnings season to start in earnest next week, led by JPMorgan (JPM) and Citigroup (C). Performance is expected to be softer, with analysts betting tariffs will bite into revenue for the quarter.

Shares of rare earth mineral-related stocks surged on Friday after President Trump announced that China was sending letters to other countries regarding export controls on these essential elements. necessary to make everything from electronics to weapons.

Shares of MP Materials (MP) rose 15%,%, while USA Rare Earth (USAR) also gained 15%.

Stocks rolled over on Friday after President Trump posted he is considering imposing a \\"massive increase\\" in tariffs on Chinese goods.

\\"Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile, and sending letters to Countries throughout the World, that they want to impose Export Controls on each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it’s not manufactured in China,\\" Trump wrote on Friday.

\\"I have not spoken to President Xi because there was no reason to do so. This was a real surprise, not only to me, but to all the Leaders of the Free World. I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,\\" he added.

\\"One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America,\\" he said in the post.

Consumer sentiment was relatively unchanged in October.

The University of Michigan's preliminary survey of consumer sentiment released Friday showed the headline consumer sentiment index came in at 55 for the month so far, above the 54 projected by economists polled by Bloomberg but a hair below the reading of 55.1 in September.

Still, consumer sentiment for the month fell far below the 70.5 reading in October 2024.

The October data also showed year-ahead inflation expectations dropped to 4.6% during the month from 4.7% the previous month. Economists had expected the figure to remain unchanged.

Long-term inflation expectations for the next five to 10 years remained steady at 3.7% as projected.

In September, survey results had shown consumers feeling worse about the economy than expected as they worried about the impact of Trump's tariffs.

Joanne Hsu, the director of UMichigan's consumer surveys, said of the fresh data Friday: \\"Pocketbook issues like high prices and weakening job prospects remain at the forefront of consumers’ minds.\\"

The latest look at consumer sentiment comes amid an ongoing US government shutdown, which has delayed the release of crucial federal data investors use to gauge the health of the economy.

Hsu said UMichigan's data for the month to date has shown \\"little evidence that the ongoing federal government shutdown has moved consumers’ views of the economy thus far.\\"

Read more here.

US stocks inched higher on Friday at the market open.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) moved up more than 0.2%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) nudged up over 0.1%.

The slight gains come after the Nasdaq and S&P 500 retreated from record highs Thursday amid an ongoing US government shutdown. The two major gauges were set for weekly gains Friday morning, while the Dow was on track for a weekly loss.

The key takeaway from Delta's (DAL) strong performance this quarter is that it pays to go premium. The airline's stock rose 0.5% in premarket trading on Friday after popping more than 4% on the heels of its earnings release on Thursday.

As Yahoo Finance's Hamza Shaban writes in today's Morning Brief newsletter:

Delta's successful shift to premiumization reflects broader economic trends and underscores one of the biggest stories of the post-pandemic era and of the year: the K-shaped economy.

Delta's latest earnings report, which lifted shares by 4%, highlighted the bifurcation between affluent and price-conscious consumers. Continued growth for its higher-tier products reinforced the company's strategy to prioritize premium features at a time when consumer spending habits and the labor market show signs of splitting and straining. (Rival United Airlines (UAL) also rose 3% on the news, which coincided with an expansion of international flights to cities in Europe.)

The premium business — including fares in the Comfort Plus and Delta One cabins — grew 9% compared to the same period last year. And loyalty revenue from Delta's SkyMiles program also improved 9%. Its credit card partnership with American Express generated $2 billion this quarter, up 12%. (The healthy figures coincide with an escalating perks war among credit card issuers on the hunt for deep-pocketed customers.) Spending on co-branded credit cards surged by double digits. Meanwhile, main cabin ticket sales fell 4% for the quarter.

Read more here.

Apollo Global chief economist Torsten Sløk pointed out in a note on Friday that almost 90% of public fixed income worldwide is trading at a yield below 5%. (Disclosure: Yahoo Finance is owned by Apollo Global Management.)

\\"With inflation at 3%, the real return for investors in public fixed income is a meager 2% or less,\\" Sløk wrote.

US Treasury yields fell on Friday as the government shutdown delayed economic data that might otherwise move bond prices. The 10-year yield (^TNX) declined by 5 basis points to 4.09%. The 30-year yield (^TYX) dropped to 4.67%.

Economic data: University of Michigan sentiment (October, preliminary reading); University of Michigan one-year inflation (October preliminary reading); University of Michigan 5-10 year inflation, (October preliminary reading)

Earnings calendar: No notable earnings.

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:

China targets Qualcomm as Trump-Xi talks loom

China tightens checks on Nvidia AI chips at major ports

Gold recovers $4,000, silver powers on toward record

Delta's premium play pays off

Retail crowd beats the S&P 500 as soaring trading sparks concern

Applied Digital soars as AI demand fuels data center growth

The big dollar short is turning into a pain trade for investors

Trump's crackdown on EVs hits home in the Battery Belt

Shutdown pain ripples through US economy with no deal in sight

Republican ranks begin to crack over government shutdown

Here's a look at some of the top stocks trending in premarket trading:

Intel (INTC) stock rose almost 2% before the bell on Friday. Intel unveiled its new Core Ultra series 3 processor on Thursday, the first chip built on its 18A process technology and manufactured at the new Fab 52 plant.

Elastic (ESTC) stock rose 10% in premarket trading on Friday. Bank of America (BAC) recently cut their price target for Elastic, citing tougher competition for AI workloads, which could crimp growth.

American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) shares rose 9% before the bell. Over the past month, its share price has fallen 6% and is down 13% year-to-date.

Qualcomm (QCOM) stock fell more than 3% before the bell on Friday following news that China has launched an antitrust investigation into the US chipmaker over its acquisition of Israel's Autotalks.

Reuters reports:

China's State Administration for Market Regulation said the probe would look at whether Qualcomm violated China's antitrust law by not lawfully declaring some details in its acquisition of the Israeli chip designer.

San Diego-based Qualcomm said in June it had finalised the deal for Autotalks, which makes communications chips to help prevent car crashes, without disclosing the size, or how it had resolved earlier sticking points.

Qualcomm had said in 2024 it would drop the bid for Autotalks after it failed to get regulatory approvals in a timely manner.

Read more here.

Shares in Applied Digital surged around 25% before the bell after the data center developer's quarterly revenue outdid Wall Street expectations.

A new deal with cloud company CoreWeave (CRWV) also buoyed hopes that the AI buildout will fuel more demand for Applied Digital.

Reuters reports:

Applied Digital finalized a new lease agreement with CoreWeave in August for an additional 150MW in North Dakota.

This brings the total anticipated contracted lease revenue to about $11 billion, which includes the $7 billion in revenue from the initial two 15-year leases with CoreWeave announced earlier this year.

In a note last week, Roth Capital said Applied Digital could potentially secure another high-performance computing (HPC) colocation agreement by year-end. ...

The company's revenue rose 84% to $64.2 million for the quarter ended August 31, compared with analysts' estimate of $50 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Applied Digital reported an adjusted loss per share of 3 cents, smaller than the 13 cent loss expected by analysts.

Read more here.

Levi Strauss (LEVI) lifted its full-year profit forecast on Thursday, but the outlook fell short of Wall Street expectations.

Shares in the denim maker sank almost 7% in premarket as the impact of US tariffs weighed on prospects, even as the company posted a third quarter revenue beat.

Reuters reports:

The company now expects fiscal-year 2025 adjusted profit per share in the range of $1.27 to $1.32, up from its prior forecast of between $1.25 and $1.30 per share. The mid-point was below an estimate of $1.31, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The forecast assumes U.S. tariffs will remain at 30% for China and 20% for other countries through the year-end.

Tariffs impacted the company's gross margins by 80 basis points in the reported quarter, CFO Harmit Singh told Reuters, adding that the impact would be 130 basis points in the fourth quarter, which includes the crucial holiday season. ...

Robust international demand helped cushion some tariff pain, with quarterly revenues in Asia and Europe growing 12% and 5%, respectively. Globally, DTC sales witnessed 9% growth, while online sales jumped 16%.

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

Oil held the biggest decline in a week on cautious optimism about easing tensions in the Middle East and the outlook for supply.

Brent (BZ=F) traded near $65 a barrel after closing 1.6% lower on Thursday, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) was below $62. Israel approved a framework that would see Hamas release hostages in exchange for prisoners, a major step forward for a peace agreement to end the bloody conflict in Gaza.

The hostilities have destabilized the Middle East and progress toward a peace deal could siphon the remaining war premium out of prices, just as the market faces pressure from a looming surplus into year-end.

Read more here.